1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods for treating horses, and more particularly, to administering mineral supplements for treating laminitis while reducing dietary intake.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many methods for treating horses have been developed in the past. None of them, however, include naturally chelated trace minerals.
Laminitis is defined as an inflammation of the sensitive laminae of the hoof, especially in horses. Laminitis is also defined as the inflammation of the laminae or fleshy plates along the coffin bone of a horse; and yet further defined as inflammation of the laminated tissue that attaches the hoof to the foot of a horse, which allows on a chronic stage the rotation of the coffin bone, also called founder.
Presently, trace minerals, sold as a premix, are utilized for animals. However, premixed trace minerals are limited, in that they do not contain natural compositions that contain heavy metals in concentrations as little as parts per million, with diluted gases and most of the known oligo-elements.
Natural compositions are recognized in the body as catalytic agents, which help dissolve matter during the digestion process that are not usually dissolved. This process protects the body from effects of heavy indissoluble molecules that travel through different systems, arriving at the perypheric blood vessels, where they cause toxicity. Toxicity kills cells of the vessels and cause necrosis or death of surrounding tissues, which is what causes inflammation and death of the laminae of the hoof. This condition allows for the coffin bone to rotate, developing founder.
Treating horses also requires a healthy dietary intake. Simply from an economic viewpoint, it is desired to promote and maintain the health of horses, efficiently with regard to cost of dietary intake.
There are no similar methods to prevent and treat laminitis, and reduce dietary intake to the best of applicant""s knowledge, that use naturally chelated trace minerals.
Trace minerals, and chelated trace minerals in particular, have incredible effects over different areas of the body of a horse. Such effects, include: anti-inflammatory actions, enhancing effects over absorption capabilities of the digestive tract, mineralizing effects over depleted bone structures, antioxidant effects, and antitoxic effects that prevent many everyday food poisonings and related sequels of the kind that end up causing the frequently seen laminitis.
These chelated trace minerals belong to a group of montmoryllonites, and are found as naturally occurring compounds that originated from fossilized animals, plankton, algae and plants from Ancient Ocean seabed. The naturally occurring compounds are found today as rocks.
More specifically, the instant invention is a method of treating laminitis in a horse in need thereof. It comprises the administering to the horse an effective amount of a chelated trace mineral composition for promoting healthy hoof tissue. The chelated trace mineral composition is administered with a dose of approximately 2 ounces, twice a day, for a period of 20 days, while maintaining a protein content of a horse diet to approximately 9%-10% of a total dietary intake per day. In the preferred embodiment, the chelated trace mineral composition is administered orally.
The instant invention is also a method of reducing total dietary intake per day of a horse in need thereof. It comprises administering to the horse an effective amount of a chelated trace mineral composition for promoting a reduction of daily grain intake. The chelated trace mineral composition is administered with a dose of approximately 2 ounces, once a day, for a period of 20 days, and with a dose of approximately 1-2 ounces per day after completing said period of 20 days, while maintaining a protein content of a horse diet to approximately 9%-10% of a total dietary intake per day. In the preferred embodiment, the chelated trace mineral composition is administered orally.
It is therefore one of the main objects of the present invention to provide methods of preventing and treating laminitis in horses; promoting healthy skin, hair, and hoof tissue, comprising administering to horses chelated trace minerals.
It is another object of this invention to provide a method of reducing grain intake for horses; comprising administering to horses chelated trace minerals.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a composition suitable for treating laminitis and/or reducing grain intake for horses.
Yet another subject matter of the invention is a method of preparing a chelated trace mineral composition from ocean seabed rocks, comprising:
A) collecting ocean seabed rocks;
B) removing a superficial layer of crust from said ocean seabed rocks to produce a harvestable portion;
C) breaking-down said harvestable portion with a roto-tiller machine to produce a mixture of medium to small rocks, together with different fractions of smaller rocks and dust, producing a first matter;
D) providing a chelated trace mineral extract from said first matter with a screening process, producing processed matter;
E) drying and/or re-mixing said processed matter if necessary, by filtrating said processed matter produced in step D) with mesh material an additional time; and
F) preparing a chelated trace mineral composition for packaging, having a predetermined average chelated trace mineral content.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide such a method and composition that is inexpensive to manufacture and maintain while retaining its effectiveness.
Further objects of the invention will be brought out in the following part of the specification, wherein detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the invention without placing limitations thereon.